Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Thesis 2013
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to study the consumer decision process and its
determinants, explore the concept and usage of humor in advertising to find out
its impacts on consumers purchase decision.
The theoretical framework gathered data from articles, books and previous re-
searches. The author explained the process of purchase decision making, con-
sumer buying behavior and presented the classification of humor, effects of hu-
mor and appropriate product types. Empirical data was collected by mixed re-
search method: self-administered questionnaires and in-depth interview. The re-
search aimed to find out Vietnamese consumers buying behavior and the im-
pacts of seven types of humor.
2
Table of contents
1 Introduction .................................................................................................. 5
1.1 Background............................................................................................ 5
1.2 Objectives and research questions ........................................................ 5
1.3 Delimitations .......................................................................................... 7
2 Humor in advertising .................................................................................... 7
2.1 What is humor? ...................................................................................... 7
2.2 Types of humor in advertising media ..................................................... 8
2.3 The impact of humorous advertising .................................................... 12
2.4 Humor and product type ...................................................................... 15
2.5 Offensive humor .................................................................................. 17
3 Consumers purchase decision .................................................................. 18
3.1 Consumer behaviors model and determinants .................................... 18
3.2 Consumer buying behavior .................................................................. 19
3.3 Types of consumer decisions .............................................................. 22
3.3.1 Nominal decision making .............................................................. 24
3.3.2 Limited decision making ................................................................ 25
3.3.3 Extended decision making ............................................................ 25
3.4 Consumer decision making process .................................................... 26
3.4.1 Problem recognition ...................................................................... 26
3.4.2 Information search......................................................................... 28
3.4.3 Purchase decision ......................................................................... 31
3.4.4 Post purchase behavior ................................................................. 33
4 Research methodology .............................................................................. 34
4.1 Data Collection .................................................................................... 34
4.2 Research method ................................................................................ 35
4.2.1 Qualitative method ........................................................................ 36
4.2.2 Quantitative method ...................................................................... 36
4.3 Empirical research implementation ...................................................... 37
4.3.1 Self-administered questionnaires .................................................. 37
4.3.2 In-depth interviews ........................................................................ 38
5 Data analysis ............................................................................................. 39
5.1 Vietnamese consumer ......................................................................... 39
5.2 Consumer purchase behaviour ............................................................ 40
5.3 Consumer decision process................................................................. 43
5.4 Impact of different types of humor ....................................................... 45
5.4.1 Comparison ................................................................................... 45
5.4.2 Exaggeration ................................................................................. 46
5.4.3 Personification ............................................................................... 47
5.4.4 Surprise ......................................................................................... 47
5.4.5 Pun ................................................................................................ 48
5.4.6 Sarcasm ........................................................................................ 48
5.4.7 Silliness ......................................................................................... 49
6 Discussion ................................................................................................. 49
6.1 Summary ............................................................................................. 49
6.2 Conclusion ........................................................................................... 51
6.3 Recommendations for future research ................................................. 53
References........................................................................................................ 54
Figures .............................................................................................................. 56
3
Charts ............................................................................................................... 56
Tables ............................................................................................................... 56
Appendix ........................................................................................................... 57
TV advertisements used in in-depth interviews ................................................. 61
4
1 Introduction
1.1 Background
The term advertising originates from the Latin word advertere which means
to turn the mind towards. Advertising has a psychological impact on consumers
and influences the buying decisions of consumers. As a marketing vehicle, one
of advertisings features is to aim at persuasion of potential customers (Kotler,
Armstrong 2010). A mean to achieve this ultimate goal is advertising appeal,
which is a force that stimulates customer mindset towards the product or service
and initiates buying decision.
Thereby, the aim of this paper is to study the concepts and usage of humor in
advertising, consumer decision making process and how humor creates impacts
on consumer purchase decision.
5
tisement to be successful, consumers need to do more than enjoying and laugh-
ing when they see a magazine advertisement or a TV commercial. The adver-
tisement should change consumers behaviour and attitudes. It also has to make
them remember the product, so that when they make a purchase the product or
the brand will come to their mind (Clow, 2007).
At the beginning, the paper provides definition, categorization and impact of hu-
mour (1). Then, the consumer decision making process and purchase behaviour
will be studied and presented in detailed (2) to deliver a theoretical foundation for
the empirical research of humorous advertising on Vietnamese consumers buy-
ing behaviour (3). Therefore, this study aims to answer these questions and sub
questions:
This question will define humour, present types of humour in advertising and hu-
mours impact generated from previous studies and researches on humour.
6
1.3 Delimitations
Similarly, humour has various approaches when designed for diverse product
type. For this reason, the empirical research aims to identify how humour used in
advertising campaigns of packaged food and beverage products impact Vietnam-
ese consumers purchase behaviour. Other product types and their use of hu-
mour in advertisement are not covered in this paper.
2 Humor in advertising
Humor is a universal phenomenon that is easy to spot and enjoy, often triggering
laughter. It is also an elusive entity that is difficult to define and analyze. A dic-
tionary definition of humor is the quality of being amusing or comic, the ability to
express humor or amuse other people, a mood or state of mind (Oxford diction-
ary). Stern (1996) suggests that the term humor itself breeds confusion by con-
founding the formal aspects of the stimulus advertisement with the response as-
pects of effects on consumers. Still, humor appears in various forms that such a
standard definition cannot cover. Weinberger and Gulas (1992) pointed out in
7
their work that an all-encompassing, generally accepted definition of humor does
not exist.
To establish consistency with the scant previous research that has considered
different types of humor, Catanescu and Tom (2001) used Reicks practitioner-
oriented classification system and added two more categories: comparison and
personification.
8
presents the same picture, but this time with a very conservative son who is nicely
dressed with clean, short hair. With the help of HP PhotoSmart System, which
allows modification of pictures, the ad claims the "grandmother spared holiday
shock, heirs breathe easy."
6. Silliness - In this study, silliness ranges from making funny faces to ludicrous
situations such as the one created in the commercials for "1800-Collect," when a
couple of muscular men run around the beach on their toes to avoid the hot sand.
Another example is the commercial for the Weather Channel in which two men
paint their faces red and blue in an effort to predict the weather.
9
audience: The car is badly damaged as he saves the satellite dish, which he
initially intended to protect by moving his car.
Catanescu and Toms (2001) research shows that humor is used more in televi-
sion advertisements than in print advertisement. These findings support the belief
of advertising and creative executives that television is a more effective channel
to use humor. Sarcasm is the most popular form of humor used in magazines,
while silliness predominates in television.
Pricken (2008) provides several more types of humor derive from comedians and
entertainers which is also used in advertisements but tends to easily cause re-
sentments. These two were included in Creative advertising, a collection of re-
cent ideas and techniques from advertising campaigns.
Black humor is what happens by canceling out the serious side of socially taboo
subjects like death, illness, morality or sex and approached playfully. However,
the advertisers need a light touch and sensitivity or the humor could backfire.
There is also a good possibility of audience feeling offended.
10
Unexpected and situation humor
The situation dependent jokes do not spring from imagination but are written by
a person is in perfectly normal, everyday situation. Suddenly thanks to some un-
foreseen event or an accident he himself caused, he is projected in a humorous
situation. The key factor of unintentional humor is the character is unprepared.
Blue humor
Blue humor does not refer to any specific type of joke; it is just the category of
humor that deals with sexuality and bodily functions. The humor comes from
breaking taboos, leading to an inner conflict which resolves itself in laughter. Mar-
keters can think of a sexual side to the product or service, and find ways to show
it in a classy and amusing life. At the same time, they also have to develop an
instinct for cases of resentments.
11
2.3 The impact of humorous advertising
People use humor every day as a communication tool. Humor tends to relax the
audience, break the ice and create a connection between the communicator and
the audience (Tellis, 1998). Thus, many public speakers often open their speech
with a joke. Humor helps setting a good mood to transfer message and gain ac-
ceptance. For this reason, humor is used in about 24 percent of prime time tele-
vision advertisements and 35 percent of radio ads (Clow, 2007). Some academic
researchers have shown that advertisements using humor draw more attention
and liking than advertisements that do not (Speck, 1991). However, the efficiency
of humor in advertising is elusive because humor is a complex topic that is af-
fected by wide variety of factors (Weinberger and Gulas, 1992). Many scholars
have been experimentally studied the effectiveness of humor and this paper aim
to present several common impacts of humor in previous researches.
Humor can solve the distance among people in communication and it can reduce
the resistance to the message (Tellis 1998). In the scenario where consumers
already hold negative beliefs and resistance to the product type, they may resists
to accept information about it. Like a person, humorous advertisements approach
them by making them laugh. The laughter can distract the consumer from their
existing judgments and opinions and make an effort to introduce the central mes-
sage. Several researches also show that humor can enhance liking of the adver-
tisement and the advertised brand. (Weinbeger and Gullas 1992, Shimp 2010)
12
Most of the ads that became viral are humorous ads such as the Budweisers
Whasssup?. Many advertisements have the power of lasting in consumers
memory for an impressively long period. Figure 3 presents a part of Nielsen
Global Survet of Trust in Advertising, polled more than 29000 respondents in 58
countries showed that humorous advertising resonated most. Humorous TV com-
mercials have also dominated the Superbowl advertising over the years and au-
diences including football fans consider commercials as tradition. However, there
are mixed findings on whether humor can always generate a strong memory for
the brand name or brand claims (Spotts, Weinberger and Parsons, 1997; Shimp
2010). It is a commonly accepted fact that things attached to humor tends to make
us remember it longer, but this impact is also relied on humor relevance.
Figure 3. What types of advertising messages resonate most with you? Nielsen
Global Survey of Trust in Advertising Q1 2013
13
Fugate (1998) provides a list of humors benefits in advertising that has also been
shown and proved by many other studies
Weinberger and Gulas (1992) state that humor cannot assure more successful in
advertising by simply attach humor into an advertisement. Humor related directly
to the product works more effectively than the unrelated humor (Fatt, 2002) In
spite of the increasing numbers of humorous advertisement, it is important to un-
derstand that humor can be appropriate and effective in some situations. Humor
varies in their effectiveness and perceived differently across demographic
groups, cultures and even among individuals. Shimp (2010) included in his text
that many evidences shows that humorous ads are more effective than non-hu-
morous ads only when consumers evaluations of the advertised brand are al-
ready positive.
With the recognized impact of humor in attracting attention and influence cus-
tomers attitudes positively, Shimp (2010) suggests that this chain of effects can
create brand awareness. He also produced a list of tentative generalizations that
was generated from researches on humor.
14
The nature of the product affects the appropriateness of using humor. Spe-
cifically, humor is used more successfully with established rather than new
products. Humor is also more appropriate for products that are more feel-
ing oriented, or experiential, and those that are not very involving (such as
inexpensive consumer packaged goods).
15
ered when developing different message appeals and humorous appeal in par-
ticular. The PCM draws on ELM theory and classified the products into color
groups.
The yellow goods are the most suited for humor. The ELM framework would clas-
sify this product group into a low-motivation-to-process category because of the
low risk and routinized decision making (Gulas et al. 2006). Consumers tend to
undertake nominal decision making in purchasing these products. The results
often are affective choice or attitude choice. A study by Weinberger et al. (1995)
tested the impact of humor with different product groups. It shows that yellow
goods have the highest incidence of humor use for all the media that were tracked
(Gulas et al. 2005).
16
2.5 Offensive humor
Gruner (1997) a superiority theorist argue that all humor is based on the concept
of winners and losers. The losers are associated with some group by gender,
age, occupation or race. Therefore, people from these groups are likely to be
offended by the humor that targets at losers group. Humor that targets at a par-
ticular individual or a public figure can offend the target and people who have an
affinity with the target. From the superiority theorists, humor definitely has the
potential of offending someone (Gulas et al 2005.)
In many advertising practice, offensive humor has made many advertising cam-
paign become the target of criticism and resentment from audiences. This cir-
cumstance is a backfire from advertisers attempt to breakthrough, the failed at-
tempt turns to a shocking message appeal. It is a fine line between effective and
offensive when social norms are misused as a source of humor. This includes
racist humor, sexist humor, religious, political events (Gulas et al 2005.)
17
3 Consumers purchase decision
18
3.2 Consumer buying behavior
Adapted from Henry Assael, Consumer behavior and Marketing Action (Boston:
Kent Publishing Company, 1987), p. 87.
19
Help customer learn about the product
Differentiate their brands attributes
Create message that influences buyers belief and attitudes
Habitual buying behavior refers to situations where a consumer has low involve-
ment in a purchase and perceives insignificant brand difference. This product
category includes everyday use products and commodities such as toilet paper,
salt and pepper. Consumers simply buy them without considering different
brands. If they keep choosing the same brand, it is a more habitual decision than
strong brand loyalty.
In these situations, consumer does not pass through the usual belief-attitude-
behavior sequence. Instead, they passively learn about the products by watching
20
television or read magazines. Consumers are buying based on brand familiarity,
marketers use ad repetition to build brand familiarity instead of brand conviction.
In order to encourage purchases, marketers often use price and sales promotion
to initiate product trial (Kotler, Armstrong 2010).
The marketing strategy might be different for market leaders and small brands.
Market leading brands will encourage habitual buying by dominating shelf space,
keeping shelves stocked and running frequent advertising. Marketers for this
product type should influence variety seeking consumers by:
21
3.3 Types of consumer decisions
Purchase decision and consumption behavior differs in various product types and
consumers are often driven by emotional or situational needs. Therefore, the de-
cision process model gives useful insights into all types of consumer purchases.
Studying the model will help marketers understand emotion, situation and attrib-
ute based decisions.
22
Low involvement purchases High involvement purchases
Post purchase
Post purchase Post purchase
No dissonance
No dissonance Dissonance
Very limited evalua-
Limited evaluation Complex evaluation
tion
23
Figure 6. Involvement and types of decision making
Nominal decisions are broken into two distinct categories: brand loyal purchases
and repeat purchase decisions.
In contrast, consumers make repeat purchases when they have low involvement
in considering different brands and may not attach much importance to the prod-
uct categories. They are repeat purchaser because of they are satisfied with the
past decision and decide without effort in the next purchase (Percy et al 2002).
24
3.3.2 Limited decision making
Limited decision making involves recognizing a problem with several possible so-
lutions. There is an internal and limited amount of external search. A few alterna-
tives are evaluated using simple selection rules. Consumers make little effort and
involvement in considering different solutions. The purchase and consumption of
the product are given little evaluation, unless it failed to satisfy consumers (Haw-
kins and Mothersbaugh 2010). For example, when a consumer need to buy dish
soap, he has a decision rule that he will buy the cheapest brand available. Next
trip to the store, he simply scans the prices and pick the cheapest. The process
is straightforward and allows him to make quick purchase decision.
25
3.4 Consumer decision making process
Evaluation Post
Problem Information Purchase
of purchase
recognition search decision
alternatives behavior
Figure 7 shows five stages of considerations that arise when a consumer faces
a new and complex purchase situation. It is clear that the buying process starts
long before and proceeds after the actual purchase (or not to buy decision). In
different types of decision making listed above (nominal, limited and extended)
consumers often skip or reverse some the stages. However, marketers need to
focus on the entire buying process (Kotler and Armstrong 2010).
26
Figure 8. Problem recognition: Shifts in actual or ideal states
27
Figure 10. Redbull ad assumes that consumers are aware of the problem
(active problem) and focuses on brands unique attribute.
28
Independent sources (mass media, consumer rating organizations, and
Internet searches).
Experiential sources (handling, examining, using the product).
Past searches
Actively acquired
Personal
Information sources
Internal experience
information
Low involvement
Passively acquired
learning
Independent
sources
Personal sources
External
Actively acquired
information Commercial
sources
Experiential
sources
For example, when you want to see a movie, you may search your memory for
past experiences at several cinamas (personal experience). To choose which
movie to see, you may look for recommendation of a friend or a family member
(personal sources) or read the movies rating and critical reviews websites
(independent sources).
Consumers receive most information from commercial sources which are con-
trolled by the marketers. Many consumers, however, are suspicious of the infor-
mation from these sources, believing that most campaigns stress the products
attributes and ignore the faults. A survey found that 78 percent of consumers
found recommendations from others to be the most credible sources for making
purchase decision (Kotler and Armstrong 2010, p178). This explains the rising
number of online ratings and reviews such as on Amazon, Ebay and Tripadvisor.
29
Appropriate alternatives
The inert set is composed of those brands consumers are aware and have
a neutral opinion. Consumers are open for positive information but inactive
in seeking it.
The inept set contains those brands consumers are aware of and view
negatively.
The evoked set (also called the consideration set) includes brands or
product consumer will evaluate for the solution of a particular problem.
These are consumers most preferred alternatives (Hawkins and
Mothersbaugh 2010).
After gathering information and creating an evoked set of alternatives, the con-
sumer engages in the next stage, evaluation of alternatives. The obtained infor-
mation will be used to develop a set of attributes to compare the brands. These
attributes are called evaluative criteria. Evaluative criteria are defined by Haw-
kins and Mothersbaug (2010) as various dimensions, features or benefits a con-
sumer looks for in solution for a problem.
Consumers associate evaluative criteria with desired benefits. For instance, con-
sumers want fluoride (evaluative criteria) in their toothpaste to reduce cavities
(desired benefits). Marketers often choose communicate brand benefits rather
than evaluative criteria since it is more specific and persuasive.
Evaluative criteria can differ in type, number and importance. The type of criteria
consumers use in evaluating alternatives varies from tangible (cost, functions) to
intangible factors (style, taste, feelings and brand image). Evaluative criteria and
their assigned importance have great influences on consumers decision (Haw-
kins and Mothersbaugh 2010). For example, consumers who think car style is
30
more important than its cost tend to buy more often than those with the opposite
importance ranking. Marketers aim to understand which consumers use to eval-
uate their brands so they can develop and communicate the brand benefits to the
target consumers.
In this stage, the consumers do not simply decide to purchase or not. There are
three types of decision process that consumers might undertake.
Affective choice
31
Figure 12. Mercedes-Benz ad helps consumer envision the experience of the
lighting and sound system of a Mercedes.
Attitude-based choice
32
Figure 13. Pepsi O print ad example of encouraging attitude-based choice.
Attribute-based choice
Marketers can apply this approach to brands that have important attribute based
advantages but lack strong reputations or images (Percy et al 2002). This could
be done by providing attribute-based comparisons in easy-to-process format and
displayed on ads, packages, point-of-purchase displays, websites, etc.
Post purchase behavior is the stage in which consumers take further action after
purchase, based on their satisfaction or dissatisfaction. When buying products,
consumers expect certain outcomes from the purchase. How well these expec-
33
tations are met defines the satisfaction level of the consumer. When they recog-
nize inconsistency between their expectations and performance, they tend to fee
a tension called cognitive dissonance.
4 Research methodology
In order to cover major factors in the research, objectives or problems of the re-
search have to be determined. Objectives are goals of decision maker that must
be considered in order to conduct successful marketing research (Malhotra
2006). This is primarily crucial in the process as it allows researcher to focus
efficiently and narrow down the research.
34
Secondary data are existing and available data collected by others. These data
have already been collected for some other purpose (Saunders et al. 2009). Re-
searchers are advised to start with examining secondary sources of information
(Proctor 2003). Secondary data are useful not only for solving the research prob-
lem but also to better understand and explain the research problems. For exam-
ple, in this case, the researcher initially gathered information, studies related to
emotions as message appeals, consumer behaviour, and marketing communica-
tion. Secondary data was obtained from various sources such as books, journal
articles and online data sources.
In contrast, primary data were collected by the researcher himself and for his own
project. In situations where secondary data are not available and cannot answer
the research questions, one has to acquire data that directly relevant to the prob-
lem. Despite the fact that collecting primary data consumes plenty of time and
depends significantly to the willingness, capability and honesty of respondents, it
provides prosperous information for researchers. The answer to research ques-
tion Vietnamese consumers buying behaviour towards humorous advertising is
obtained mostly from primary data. This data was collected from empirical re-
search results, transcripts of interviews and recorded observation. Following in
this chapter is method choice to collect primary data.
The methodologies used in this research are qualitative and quantitative. Both
methods can be used in one research and this choice of methodologies is called
multiple methods research. This method is increasingly executed in data collec-
tion for business and management research (Saunders et al. 2009). The patterns
displayed in quantitative research can be enriched with the addition of qualitative
information (Proctor 2003). The combination of two methods provides a thorough
understanding of the customer.
35
4.2.1 Qualitative method
The method used to collect data is in-depth interview, which is conducted face-
to-face with the respondent. In the interviews, the subject is explored in detail
(Aaker 2003). In this study, the interviews aim to examine consumers reaction to
different types of humour used in food and beverage advertisements. The re-
spondents were shown seven TV advertisements with different humorous appeal.
Then they were guided by the interviewer and the questions to explain their re-
action, opinion and degree of involvement in purchase decision. This method can
elicit more detailed and useful information from consumers because group pres-
sure is eliminated; the respondents are comfortable to reveal more honest feel-
ings (McDaniel and Gates 2006).
36
pattern in making purchase decision and how they involve in the process with
packaged food and beverage products or yellow goods. The questions collect
demographic information and type of purchase decision from the respondents. A
set of three print advertisements are presented and consumer will evaluate their
reaction and possible purchase activities based on the given advertisements.
The empirical research of this study gives the answer to the third research ques-
tion: How is Vietnamese consumer purchase decision influenced by humorous
advertisement? As mentioned in the previous chapter, the self-administered
questionnaires collect and analyse data to answer the sub question: How does
Vietnamese consumer make purchase decision with packaged food and bever-
age products or yellow goods? (1) The qualitative method, in-depth interview
take an exploratory approach and seek insights into Vietnamese consumers re-
actions and opinions about different types of humour used in advertisements (2).
37
of Vinamilk, a Vietnamese dairy brand were presented. The respondents were
asked to mark their evaluation of the advertisements and how the advertisements
affected their purchase activities.
38
5 Data analysis
In this chapter, data collected from questionnaires and in-depth interview will be
presented and analysed according to different topics in theoretical framework and
research questions.
The questionnaires were available at the convenience store for one day. At the
end of the day, 35 responses were collected and no disqualified response. Most
respondents participated in the survey were women (24 in 35). With the marital
status question, 62% of the respondents (22) are married (with or without chil-
dren). No respondents marked Other in this question. The majority of the
women took part in the survey are married (71%) while there were more single
than married male respondents (54% and 46%). There were no respondents who
are single and have children.
24 68% 11 32%
Marital status
39
5.2 Consumer purchase behaviour
The next question aimed to find out consumers frequency in buying packaged
food and beverages product. With a daily necessity product, there was no sur-
prise that no one marked never. The majority of the respondents purchase pack-
aged food and beverage products 1-3 times per week (13 in 35) and 4-5 times
per week (11 in 35). The third largest group in this question purchase these prod-
ucts about once in two weeks (6 in 35). Finally, 9% of the respondent purchase
packaged food and beverage every day and 6% purchase about once per month.
Purchase frequency
0%
9% 6%
17 % Never
About once per month
About once in two weeks
31 %
1-3 times per week
4-5 times per week
Everyday
37 %
40
Consumer's information sources
14 %
20 %
Personal sources
Commercial sources
Experiential sources
29 %
Independent sources
37 %
41
I usually do not have much time to 11 6 1 8 9
consider
In table 3, the first two statements describe the affective choice. Statements num-
ber 3, 4 and 5 refer to attitude-based choice and the last three define consumers
with attribute-based choice. The numbers of responses are calculated by per-
centages and displayed in the chart below. From this chart, it can be seen that
consumers are more likely to make affective choice and attitude-based choice
than attribute-based choice when shopping for packaged food and beverage
products.
42
Types of purchase decision
40%
35%
30%
Not at all like me
25%
Not much like me
20%
Somewhat like me
15% A lot like me
5%
0%
Affective choice Attitude-based choice Attribute-based choice
43
Advertisements' message
Average
29 %
Well
The next question required the respondents to answer whether or not they found
the advertisements funny or amusing. There is an optional open-ended question
for those who chose No. There were 21 in 35 respondents (60%) answered
yes and 14 respondents (60%) answered No. However, there was no reason
given for the open-ended question.
There were 32 respondents who have purchased the product and only three have
other product choices. One of them explained in the open-ended question that
her family has another favorite brand. Two in these three respondents will most
likely to consider this product and one will definitely not consider. The last three
questions examined how the advertisements affect consumers involvement in
purchase decision. Respondents will evaluate their possibility of initiating pur-
chase activities based on the given advertisements. It can be seen from the graph
that the majority of the respondents would most likely buy the product (12 in 35)
44
and recommend to others (10 in 35). However, the highest number of respond-
ents would not likely to find information about the product (13 in 35). And there
is a second biggest group that definitely will find information.
14
12
10
Definitely not
8 Not likely
Undecided
6
Most likely
4 Definitely will
0
Find information Buy the product Recommend to others
There were three respondents in the in-depth interviews. In this study, names of
the respondents are not published according to their requests. The first respond-
ents were a married woman, mother of two children and a business owner. The
second interview was conducted with a single woman, recently graduated and
working as an accountant. The last respondent was a man who is a university
student. The respondents were shown seven TV commercials. After watching,
with the guiding questions of the interviewer, they expressed their opinions, de-
scribed their feelings and reactions.
5.4.1 Comparison
The advertisement used to demonstrate this type of humor is from KFC Vietnam.
In this TV commercial, a couple is preparing to have their dinner in a fine dining
45
restaurant. They were surprised by how small the portion of their meal. Later,
they gladly enjoy their big and delicious Big and Juicy order in KFC.
All respondents were able to tell the message of the commercial and found it
quite amusing. A respondent described it as funny but not the kind that you laugh
out loud. Humorous comparison was perceived as a common tactic that they all
saw a lot on TV since it can easily deliver the message of the product or cam-
paign. From a mothers perspective, this type of humor can reach many audi-
ences because the message is introduced in a straight forward way. She shared
that the ability to deliver the message is very important because consumer needs
to be provided information not only laughing at the humor used in advertisements.
The brand might be recalled when there is a need. Other two younger respond-
ents have relatively same opinions about comparison humor. The commercial
might deliver a distorted image of reality and the message can be perceived as
not credible. On the other hand, for products like fast food, snacks or beer, this
type of humor can be used but not so entertaining.
5.4.2 Exaggeration
46
5.4.3 Personification
The commercial was aired on Vietnamese TV and all respondents recognized the
brand because it is very popular. They all shared that they have consumed Vin-
amilk products. This commercial seemed to execute the personification used in
most other Vinamilk commercials. This type of humor works better than the com-
parison humor because it attracts attention by the silliness and is unexpected.
The male respondent thought that it might work better for children. For him, the
humor is close to humor of a cartoon and he did not find it funny. Overall, person-
ification can deliver great entertainment value but the effectiveness of the mes-
sage is quite vague. To affect the buying behavior, only personification humor
could not achieve it but it can succeed in drawing attention and making the brand
memorable.
5.4.4 Surprise
This commercial was very popular when aired in Vietnam. Heineken has many
campaigns that express the brands attractiveness to men. This commercial suc-
ceeds in building brands attribute. Surprise can be very effective in making the
brand memorable because of its unexpected nature. It is what makes commer-
cials viral among audiences. However, like personification it cannot focus on de-
livering information of product. Therefore, it is used by many big brands to build
consumers loyalty and encourage repurchase. There are two different opinions
47
about surprise. One respondent thought the commercial does not have much im-
pact on consumer decision because he is distracted from product by the humor.
From another opinion, a success surprise humor used in advertising can make
the consumer recall the brand and make it stand out from the shelves.
5.4.5 Pun
The commercial introduces a new product of Cheez it called Zingz. The cheese
character uses Zingz in different adjective (amazing, mesmerizing) and
went too far.
All three respondents are confused by the commercials message. One thought
that English is not her mother tongue so it is difficult to understand the pun. An-
other idea is pun itself could be hard to understand and deliver the humor for
every audience. With a commercial failed to communicate with consumer, the
product will easily be forgotten and have no impact on initiating decision making
process. One suggests that pun has to be carefully designed with wit to deliver
or emphasize a message. However, another respondent thought that with a hu-
mor that is not for everyone, the use of it cannot achieve the effectiveness like
other types.
5.4.6 Sarcasm
Cheetos commercial: The man is frustrated because of the woman and the chee-
tah playing a monotone song. The man complains as if they do not have any
other song and they play the same song in a higher note.
Similar to pun humor, this commercial is not well received by the respondents.
One respondent said that it seemed to be pointless since she could not get the
humor in this commercial and there was little concentration on the product. It
might work on the one that familiar with the brand but it will soon be forgotten by
others who came across a new product. Sarcasm is still quite rarely used in com-
mercials targeted at Vietnamese consumers so the respondents think this type of
48
humor is quite tasteless. Moreover, one thought that it can possibly offend some-
one.
5.4.7 Silliness
Doritos commercial: The daughter asks the father to play dressing up as princess
with her but he is about to go out with his friends. The daughter then bribes him
with a bag of Doritos so he dresses up and let her put makeup on him. The whole
group eventually wears long gowns and makeup too.
This commercial made all respondents laugh and one said that it is more like a
comedic situation than a commercial. The male respondent believed that if a com-
mercial succeeds in making him laugh, he sure will remember the product and
recall the commercial when he sees the product. Especially with a snack product,
the product advertised can achieve a slight edge among the other brands. An-
other respondent criticized this type of humor as entertaining but only for a short
time; she might be bored with it when watching it for several times more. Silliness
is used more in USAs TV and it is more appropriate for consumers in United
States. For Vietnamese consumer, silly commercial can be perceived as ridicu-
lous. Unlike sarcasm and pun, it is easy to understand but it can be seen as
shallow and have little effect on decision making.
6 Discussion
In this chapter, the author will give the summary of the research. Recommenda-
tions and suggestions for future research will be given.
6.1 Summary
The purpose of this research is to find out the impact of humorous advertising on
consumers purchase decision. Two topics that need to be investigated are hu-
mor used in advertising and consumers purchase decision. There have been
many research studies humor as an appeal used in advertising but very few study
the persuasion of power on consumers decision. The thesis approached theories
49
and researches about two topics and use the empirical research to analyze the
correlation between the two to find out the impacts. Empirical research is targeted
at Vietnamese consumer and the impact of humor on Vietnamese consumers
decision making. The thesis aimed to answer three research questions:
To answer question 2 and its two sub questions, definition and effects of humor
are presented by collecting from previous study about humor. Humor is such an
elusive concept that many scholars have different classification of humor. In this
thesis, the author chose the seven types of humor by Catanescu & Tom (2001).
According to the ELM model, humor is appropriate for yellow good which con-
sists of snack foods, dessert, beer, alcohol and tobacco products.
50
Empirical data is collected using the multiple method, a combination of quanti-
tative and qualitative method. The author executed self-administered question-
naires to find out Vietnamese consumers pattern in buying packaged food and
beverage products (more specifically yellow good). The in-depth interview
aimed to find out Vietnamese consumers opinion, reaction and how humor influ-
ences their buying decision.
6.2 Conclusion
With packaged food and beverage products or yellow good, consumers are
likely to undertake the nominal decision making and limited decision making since
this type consists of low involvement product. This means these products have
little risk in buying. In addition, these types of product have significant differences
among the brands, each with its own attributes and competitive advantage.
Therefore, the consumers of yellow goods are variety seeking buyers. However,
when the product requires low involvement and consumers are committed to a
specific brand (brand loyalty); they can become habitual buyers and repurchase
with almost automatic decisions.
A set of three print advertising of Vinamilk, a dairy brand is given to determine its
influence on Vietnamese consumers decision making process. Majority of con-
sumers in the survey most likely to make the buying decision and recommend to
51
other based on the advertisement. The advertised brand Vinamilk is a national
popular and strong dairy brand that has been leading the market. Most Vietnam-
ese consumers have already experienced the brand and consumed the product.
Additionally, milk is also a daily necessity product so milk buyers tend to stick to
their usual choice. Therefore there is very little motivation in finding information
about the product. The advertisements also use humor to focus on building a
strong image of the brand and reduce dissonance in post purchase stage, make
the consumer more confident in their purchase decision.
The other types of humor such as pun, sarcasm and comparison are perceived
by consumers not as entertaining. The ability to differentiate advertised brand
and product is not so significant compare to the humor types mentioned above.
However they can focus on delivering message and product information. Sar-
casm is a humor type that needs to be used with caution because it can easily
offending an individual or a group of audience. Pun is the least used in commer-
cials aired on Vietnamese TV and may not be welcomed by majority of consum-
ers. Yellow good contains products that have a various target customers In or-
der to achieve great impact, humorous advertising should be able to communi-
cate to different consumers. Vietnamese consumers still expect credible infor-
mation about the product from advertisements but humorous advertisement is
considered not to be the dependable source.
52
term memory. Vietnamese consumers in this study stated that with humorous
advertising, an aligning campaign and product placement, they most likely would
be able to recall the product. With products that are already familiar to consumer,
humor has relatively little impact on encouraging repurchases but is appropriate
tactic to build brands image and gain consumers fondness.
The scale of the research is quite limited because of the studys limited resources.
This reveal opportunities for future research to examine the impact of other types
of humor such as situational, blue humor, black humor or other classification hu-
mor in other previous studies. Research methods used in this study can also be
conducted to explore the impact of other emotional appeals in advertising. More
thorough insights can be drawn from in-depth interview by investing more re-
sources such human resources and facilities to support the interviews. Similar
study could also conduct focus group and record devices for better observation
of the respondents.
53
References
Catanescu, C., Tom, G. 2001. Types of humor in Television and Magazine ad-
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Fatt, J., Poon, T. 2002. When business can be funny, Management Research
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Fugate, D 1998. The advertising of services: what is an appropriate role for hu-
mor? Journal of services marketing, Vol 12 No 6.
Gruner, R. 1997. The Game of Humor. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publish-
ers.
Tellis, Gerard J., 1998. Advertising and sales promotion strategy. Addison Wes-
ley Educational Publishers, Inc.
Pricken, M. 2008. Creative advertising ideas and techniques from the worlds
best campaigns. Thames and Hudson.
Reick, D. 1997. Waiting for Guffaw: A Serious Look at Humor and Why You
Should Avoid it. Direct Marketing.
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Solomon, M. 2010, Consumer behavior buying, having and being. Pearson.
Speck, P.S. 1987. On humor and humor in advertising. Texas Tech University.
Spotts et al. 1997. Assessing the use and impact of humor on Advertising Effec-
tiveness: A Contingency Approach. Journal of Advertising 26(3): 17-32.
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55
Figures
Figure 3. What types of advertising messages resonate most with you? - Nielsen
Figure 10. Redbull ad assumes that consumers are aware of the problem (active
problem) and focuses on brands unique attribute.
Charts
Tables
56
Appendix
Male Female
Yes No
4. How often do you purchase packaged food and beverages (F&B) in a week?
Never
Everyday
Once
6. How do you make your purchase decision when shopping for packaged F&B?
Please check the box that indicates how descriptive the statement is about your
purchase decisions.
57
Just A lot Some- Not Not at
like me like me what like much all like
me like me me
58
Please have a look at the advertisements below.
Bad
Average
Well
Yes No
59
10. Based on these advertisements, do you think you will consider or compare
this product with your current choices?
11. Will you find information about the product based on these advertisements?
12. Will you buy the product, based solely on these advertisements?
60
TV advertisements used in in-depth interviews
A couple is surprised by how small the portion of their order in a restaurant. Later,
they gladly enjoy a big and delicious order in KFC.
Two people in a library argue about which part of an oreo is better, cookie or
cream. The argument turns into a disastrous battle.
A boy is sipping his milk carton on a bench and the sound of the straw tickle the
cow sitting next to him.
In the supermarket, the man saw an attractive woman trying to reach the beer
pack in the top shelf. He came to help but then realize it is the last pack so he
decided to keep it for himself.
The man is frustrated because of the woman and the cheetah playing a monotone
song. The man complains as if they do not have any other song and they play
the same song in a higher note.
61
The daughter ask the father to play dressing up as princess with her but he is
about to go out with his friends. The daughter then bribes him with a bag of Dor-
itos so he dresses up and let her put makeup on him. The whole group eventually
wears long gowns and makeup too.
Guiding questions
62